3/15/2019 Hyperfocal Distance Explained

Hyperfocal Distance Explained

SPENCER COX116 COMMENTS

Hyperfocal distance can be a confusing topic, both for beginning and expert photographers. However, if you
want to take the sharpest possible images, particularly landscape photographs, it is simply invaluable. In this
article, I will explain hyperfocal distance and give several methods to get the sharpest possible photographs
with maximum depth of field. This article covers hyperfocal distance charts, as well as other, simpler methods
to find your hyperfocal distance.

Understanding Hyperfocal Distance is extremely important when

incorporating close objects in the scene, particularly in landscape
photography. In the above photograph, the rocks in the foreground, as well as
the saguaro trees and the mountains in the background appear acceptably
sharp.

(Please note: Although the methods we present in this article are quite easy to understand, hyperfocal
distance itself can be a complex topic. If you are a beginner, I highly recommend reading
about aperture and depth of field before you delve into this article).

1) What is Hyperfocal Distance?

Hyperfocal distance, at its simplest, is the focusing distance that gives your photos the greatest depth of field.
For example, consider a landscape where you want everything — foreground and background — to appear
sharp. If you focus on the foreground, the background will appear blurry in the image. And if you focus on
the background, the foreground will look out of focus! How do you fix this? Simple: you focus at a particular
point betweenthe foreground and the background, which makes both the foreground and the background
elements of the scene appear reasonably sharp. This focusing point is called the hyperfocal distance.

In the optical world, hyperfocal distance is a bit more nuanced. The technical definition
is the closest focusing distance that allows objects at infinity to be acceptably sharp. By “infinity”, I am
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referring to any distant object – the horizon, for example, or stars at night.

1. In one interpretation, the hyperfocal distance of your lens will vary with aperture. Why? Think about it
like this – if your aperture is wide, such as f/2, you will need to focus quite far away for objects at
infinity to appear in focus. However, at a small aperture of f/11 or f/16, distant objects will continue to
be sharp even if your lens is focused more closely. So, in this case, hyperfocal distance moves closer to
your lens as you use smaller apertures.
2. By another interpretation, though, hyperfocal distance does not vary with aperture. Why not? In this
interpretation, hyperfocal distance is the focusing distance that provides equal sharpness between the
foreground and background. That isn’t something that changes as you alter your aperture (even as
both the foreground and background become more and more out of focus at wide apertures).
3. The reason for these different interpretations is the key phrase “acceptably sharp” in the definition of
hyperfocal distance. For some people, acceptably sharp is an exact value, while for other people
“acceptably sharp” means that the background is equal in sharpness to the foreground. Neither
interpretation is wrong, and the definition of hyperfocal distance allows us to use either. However, the
second interpretation has the benefit of offering the sharpest overall photo from front to back, since it
doesn’t prioritize background sharpness over foreground sharpness.

Your focal length also has a huge impact on hyperfocal distance. As you zoom in, your hyperfocal distance
moves farther and farther away. For a 20mm lens, you may need to focus just a few feet from your lens to get
the horizon (distant background at infinity) acceptably sharp. On the other hand, for a 200mm lens, your
hyperfocal distance may be hundreds of feet away.

It is important to note that, if you focus at the hyperfocal distance, your photo will be sharp from half that
point out to infinity. So, if your hyperfocal distance for a given aperture and focal length is ten feet,
everything from five feet all the way until the horizon will appear sharp.

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Sony RX100 IV + 24-70mm F1.8-2.8 @ 10.15mm, ISO 200, 1/13, f/11

2) When to Use Hyperfocal Distance

Not all photographs require that you focus your lens at its hyperfocal distance. Consider, for example, an
overlook of a distant mountain. If you are standing on the top of the overlook and there are no objects in
your foreground, it would be silly to try and calculate the hyperfocal distance, since your nearest object is
effectively at infinity. Just focus on the distant mountains! And your aperture does not really matter either –
since the closest object is so far away, you could shoot wide open if you wanted to (probably not a very good
idea, since most lenses aren’t as sharp at wide apertures, but this is just in theory). Hyperfocal distance is only
important to calculate when you have objects both close and far away from your lens that need to be sharp.
Since you are actually focusing between these objects, neither is “perfectly” sharp; they are both simply close
enough, or “acceptably sharp.”

Likewise, even hyperfocal distance won’t come to the rescue if you have objects that are too close to your
lens. For example, it is impossible for a distant object to be sharp at the same time as an object that is only a
few inches away from your lens (unless you shoot with specialized equipment, like perspective control / tilt-
shift lens, lens attached to bellows, and so on). Instead, you have two options: you can use focus
stacking (taking several photos at different focusing distances, then blending them together in post-
processing), or you can move your camera farther away from the closest object. The latter is often preferable,
because focus stacking is not a simple technique, and it has its own drawbacks and limitations.

When shooting distant landscapes without foreground elements, one does not
need to worry about hyperfocal distance, since focusing is set to infinity.

3) Advanced Background Information

The sections above have some slight simplifications to make it easy for beginners to understand the topic. In
this section, we will explore more advanced background information. These aren’t crucial to understand, so
feel free to skip this section, but I want to set the record straight in case you were looking for a better
understanding of hyperfocal distance.
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In reality, the formula that provides a lens’s hyperfocal distance (according to interpretation #1) is as follows:

Typically, you don’t need to use such a formula to take photographs; instead, you can look at an app or chart
that already calculates this. However, if you are interested in the optical science behind hyperfocal distance, it
can be a valuable way to visualize your settings.

The above formula is why a long focal length (say, 200mm) or a large aperture (say, f/2) both cause your
hyperfocal distance to move farther away from the camera. The third variable in this formula, the circle of
confusion, is complex enough that it could merit its own article; I will only give a brief outline here. At its most
basic, the circle of confusion – measured in millimeters – is the size that a blurred pinpoint of light on your
camera sensor would appear due to being out of focus. A larger circle of confusion represents a blurrier area
in the photo, solely due to being out of focus.

Not surprisingly, some photographers have come up with values for the circle of confusion that are “small
enough” to still appear sharp in a photo. Traditionally, with film photography, the blurriest acceptable circle of
confusion was considered to be 0.03mm for a 35mm film image. This number is based upon the sharpness
that people with 20/20 vision can see when viewing an 8×10 print at a distance of about 10 inches.

In practice, especially considering today’s high-resolution cameras, it’s arguable that the circle of confusion
should be much smaller. Higher resolution cameras allow much larger prints than 8×10, and people who view
them (especially up close) are likely to notice a 0.03mm blur very easily. So, the greater your resolution (and
more specifically, the greater your print size), the easier it is to notice when your image quality isn’t perfect.

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Note drastic differences in resolution and potential print size between a 12 MP

sensor and a 50 MP sensor.

Interestingly, nearly all hyperfocal distance calculations and charts use the standard 0.03mm value pointed
out above, despite potentially massive differences in resolution! So, if you use a chart that results in 0.03mm
of background blur, chances are good that the photo won’t actually look as sharp as you may expect.

4) Using a Hyperfocal Distance Chart

The most common method of finding a photo’s hyperfocal distance is to use a chart like the one below:

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With a chart like this, you control two variables: your focal length and your aperture value. The chart, in turn,
tells you the hyperfocal distance. By dividing this distance by two, you know the closest object that will be in
focus. If you are interested in creating the most accurate hyperfocal distance chart, you should calculate your
own values using the formula given in the previous section; the numbers above were calculated from a
0.03mm circle of confusion, which, as noted, is not always best for modern cameras, larger prints and closer
viewing distances.

To use a hyperfocal distance chart, follow the steps below:

1. Choose a lens, and be sure to note the focal length that you are using.
2. Pick an aperture value.
3. Find the hyperfocal distance that corresponds to your chosen focal length and aperture.
4. Focus your lens at the hyperfocal distance. This can be done by estimation, or by the focusing scale on
your lens (if you have one).
5. Now, everything from half that distance until infinity will be sharp.

As you can guess, there are countless smartphone apps that do the same thing – and those are much better
than a chart, which takes more time and has fewer exact values. Still, a chart and an app both fulfill the same
requirement; they provide the hyperfocal distance for your given camera settings.

Unfortunately, there are a few problems with hyperfocal distance charts. The biggest issue is that they don’t
take into account the landscape that you’re photographing. Although they might make the background of
your photos acceptably sharp, what about your foreground? These charts have no idea whether your
foreground is right next to your camera, or way off in the distance. They simply aren’t optimized for today’s
modern cameras — and, in fact, they weren’t even optimal in the film days, for this same reason. The same is
true for hyperfocal distance apps. (You can read much more in-depth on this topic in our article on
why hyperfocal distance charts aren’t accurate.)

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Another major drawback of hyperfocal distance charts is their impracticality. Do you really want to bring a
chart into the field while you are taking pictures? It can take quite a while to find the values and focus in the
right spot, particularly given that it isn’t all that accurate in the first place. These charts may be valuable if you
shoot film, but the ability to review your digital images renders them generally unnecessary. It’s no wonder
that many photographers simply go by trial-and-error, reviewing their photographs after every shot.
However, there are better methods than that, which I will cover below.

Note that sharpness extends from the nearest

rock all the way to the distant mountains in the
background
Sony A7R + FE 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS @ 21mm,
ISO 100, 1.6 sec, f/16

5) Using a Focusing Scale

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Certain lenses, especially old or manual-focus primes, have focusing scales on the barrel of the lens. Take a
look at the example below, where the focusing scale is enclosed in red:

(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

These scales show you exactly how much depth of field you will have at a given aperture, including the near
and far distances that will appear sharp. In the case above, at f/11, the scene has a depth of field from one
meter to two meters in distance.

Unfortunately, not all lenses have focusing scales, and many manufacturers are moving away from this feature
on their cheaper lenses. Some lenses that do have focusing scales, including many modern autofocus primes,
only show one or two aperture values. Zoom lenses are even more problematic. Although some modern
zooms do have focusing scales, many don’t include aperture values, since those numbers could not
simultaneously be accurate at both extremes of the zoom range. (Some older push-pull zoom lenses actually
have focus scales painted on the barrel, which remain accurate as the lens is zoomed.) However, if you are
lucky enough to have a lens with a focusing scale, follow the steps below to find your hyperfocal distance:

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1. Decide on an aperture value for the photograph, taking into consideration the depth of field that you
need.
2. There will be two dashes on your lens that correspond to the depth of field range, as shown above. Line
up one of those dashes on the point at the center of the ∞ sign. (Although it is not obvious from the
photograph, the focusing scale will spin from side to side as the lens is focused.)
3. The other dash will specify where your depth of field stops. Now, you will be focused at the hyperfocal
distance point.

Unfortunately, just like hyperfocal distance charts, these scales have a couple issues. The most significant is
that they, too, are based upon the 0.03mm circle of confusion, which means that your photos may
have slightly-blurred backgrounds in large prints. Not all focusing scales are entirely accurate, either,
and some lenses change their focus distances in extreme temperatures. To see if your lens has an accurate
focusing scale, you simply need to test it yourself.

However, if you shoot with a lens that has a focusing scale, it certainly can be a valuable technique to have at
your disposal. This may be the quickest way to find your hyperfocal distance, and it doesn’t require an
external chart or app. Just make sure to test your lenses ahead of time; this method may not be accurate
enough for your purposes.

NIKON D800E + 20mm f/1.8 @ 20mm, ISO 100, 1/1, f/11.0

6) The Double the Distance Method

The simplest method to find your hyperfocal distance, and one which Nasim uses the most and teaches in his
workshops, is based upon the properties that I have already discussed. Recall that everything from half your
hyperfocal distance until infinity is in focus; so, to find the hyperfocal distance for a given scene, you can

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